modern day christianity?!

http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/?p=631

Check out the above article, it is relatively long but certainly worth the read.

Alexandra Pelosi's "Friends of God" has caused some stirrings on both sides of the Evangelical camp. "Friends of God" is her creation that documents Evangelicals, specifically Evangelicals in the Red States that George Bush carried in the elections.

I haven't seen "Friends of God" so I cannot speak from a first hand experience, but after having read the article I am more than curious to watch her documentary, and if the article is correct in its assessment then I am fairly certain that the conclusion would be shared by many.

Have we watered down Christianity? By wanting to reach the lost, have we become lost ourselves? The article and the documentary reference a praise song, and how the song refers to us being friends of God, yet biblically that friendship doesn't come without cost, in fact Jesus calls us his friends IF we follow his commandments, and as the article says that obedience meant following to the cross.

Michael Linton, the author of the article, speaks about how we have inadvertantly raised ourselves to God. We ("Christians") walk around saying "I am God's friend", "I am..." - "I am" God's very words to describe who HE is, we've taken it and made it ours. It was an interesting point, has Christianity become about us and not about GOD. We do focus so often on how we feel, how much we love God - and really, as my pastor preached this past Sunday - we love because He first loved us, not the other way around, and love is: "not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins" (1 John 4:10).

A conversation Ted Haggard and two male members of the church have is referenced, and brings to mind the reverance of marriage and that sacredness. The documentary follows a Pro Wrestler who encourages youth to watch violence, to then preach for ten minutes about the Prince of Peace. It looks at a town that depicts Bible Land and essentially shows us that to many Christianity has become mainstreamed and commercialized.

Where do we draw the line in changing the wrapping but not changing the gift? I think many of these pastors, and churches didn't start out with the intent to be considered watered down or even to look semi ridiculous, but they've got caught up in being popular and being the "in" thing. Jesus was never the "in" thing, why is it that we strive to be? Why is that we want to make Christianity popular? It never has been! Being a Christian - a Christ follower -- is it about living in our insulated worlds: "Christian" music, "Christian" books, "Christian" clothes OR is it about being different from the world?!